The vast underground graveyard or crypt beneath St Peter's Basilica is known as the “Vatican Grottoes.” It houses the tombs of scores of popes; others are buried in the basilica; most of the rest lie in other Rome churches John Paul II's burial place is where John XXIII lay before he was moved to a chapel in 2001 after his beatification John Paul II lies in a cypress wood coffin, which was put into a sealed zinc coffin and covered by an oak casket Unlike some of his predecessors, his tomb will have a simple stone with his name and dates rather than an ornate sarcophagus Some European royals are also buried in the underground cemetery, including Queen Cristina of Sweden.

Pope John Paul I's tomb in the Vatican Grottoes